Published: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 10:11 a.m.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Three hours before the doors open, Gaetano Triani, the chef and owner at Anna's Trattoria, was taking a few minutes to talk about business when the phone rang.

Reservation for two at 7:30? No problem.

Triani returned to the conversation, shrugging off an offer for time to write down the information. Even on a Friday night, he didn't expect to be so busy that the restaurant couldn't handle another couple.

As one of the only fine-dining options in Daytona Beach's core tourism area, Anna's does well enough, Triani said, between the locals who keep coming back for the veal saltimbocca and the tourists who come on the recommendation of a hotel concierge.

The restaurant -- named for Triani's mother, who taught him to cook, and featuring many of the recipes she brought when the family moved to the area from Sicily -- has been open more than 20 years. A lot has changed in the area over that time, but Triani's recipe for success hasn't.

"The food's got to be excellent," he said in an accent as thick as the marinara sauce.

Triani, 49, doesn't pay much attention to the debates over how to improve tourism or clean up the area. He's unfamiliar with the E-Zone Master Plan, the $320,000 consultant's report the city commissioned last year.

Anna's lies outside the e-zone boundaries. But with its white linen tablecloths, local clientele and touches like the complimentary dollop of palette-cleansing sherbet between courses, City Commissioner Pam Woods said it's an example of what the 400-page report says the e-zone needs to become "a premier beachside shopping and entertainment district."

"They bring people in from all over. They even have (tourists) who come back every year. I've heard people talking about it when I've been there," Woods said. "It can't be easy for him there."

As it stands, Anna's remains in business despite its location. Most of the storefronts on his block of Seabreeze Boulevard are closed, and the neighborhood is one of the poorest in the area -- even though it's only a few blocks from the ocean and less than a mile from the area's biggest hotel.

Triani would love to see the area swarming with convention business. "When we have (more) tourists, it's a lot better for everybody," he said simply.

<p><p>DAYTONA BEACH -- Three hours before the doors open, Gaetano Triani, the chef and owner at Anna's Trattoria, was taking a few minutes to talk about business when the phone rang. </p></p><p><p>Reservation for two at 7:30? No problem. </p></p><p><p>Triani returned to the conversation, shrugging off an offer for time to write down the information. Even on a Friday night, he didn't expect to be so busy that the restaurant couldn't handle another couple. </p></p><p><p>As one of the only fine-dining options in Daytona Beach's core tourism area, Anna's does well enough, Triani said, between the locals who keep coming back for the veal saltimbocca and the tourists who come on the recommendation of a hotel concierge. </p></p><p><p>The restaurant -- named for Triani's mother, who taught him to cook, and featuring many of the recipes she brought when the family moved to the area from Sicily -- has been open more than 20 years. A lot has changed in the area over that time, but Triani's recipe for success hasn't. </p></p><p><p>"The food's got to be excellent," he said in an accent as thick as the marinara sauce. </p></p><p><p>Triani, 49, doesn't pay much attention to the debates over how to improve tourism or clean up the area. He's unfamiliar with the E-Zone Master Plan, the $320,000 consultant's report the city commissioned last year. </p></p><p><p>Anna's lies outside the e-zone boundaries. But with its white linen tablecloths, local clientele and touches like the complimentary dollop of palette-cleansing sherbet between courses, City Commissioner Pam Woods said it's an example of what the 400-page report says the e-zone needs to become "a premier beachside shopping and entertainment district." </p></p><p><p>"They bring people in from all over. They even have (tourists) who come back every year. I've heard people talking about it when I've been there," Woods said. "It can't be easy for him there." </p></p><p><p>As it stands, Anna's remains in business despite its location. Most of the storefronts on his block of Seabreeze Boulevard are closed, and the neighborhood is one of the poorest in the area -- even though it's only a few blocks from the ocean and less than a mile from the area's biggest hotel. </p></p><p><p>Triani would love to see the area swarming with convention business. "When we have (more) tourists, it's a lot better for everybody," he said simply. </p></p><p><p>But he won't change his business plan waiting for that to happen. </p></p><p><p>The food had better be excellent.</p></p><p>-----</p>